Household smoke monitoring
Practical Action
Data from the CO monitor is downloaded, using a T-82 datalogger for both room and woman. The
similarities show that the woman inhales most smoke when the fire is alight. It can also be seen
that she was inhaling some smoke around 4.00pm in the afternoon - perhaps she had a visitor
who was smoking
Figure 6: Datalogging using T82 datalogger for both room and woman
Other projects use the less expensive HOBO monitor which has been shown to provide good
results. However, the T82 provides an easy and user-friendly download facility, enabling
researchers to observe immediately the levels of pollutant as shown in Figure 6. Also, as it is used
for safety monitoring in hazardous situations, the build quality and levels of accuracy are high.
Using the equipment in project households
A particulate pump
and a CO monitor are
set close together
1.3m vertically and
1.3m horizontally
away from the stove
and monitoring is
conducted for 24
hours. Where possible,
the equipment is set
away from walls and
draughts. In Figure 7,
from Sudan, it can be
seen that all the
electrical equipment
is housed in locked
'cages' to prevent
children from
tampering with it.
Figure 7: Equipment in metal
cages – Sudan monitoring
(Photo: Practical Action).
Figure 8: Woman wearing CO
monitor around neck (photo:
Practical Action).
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